Private Advisor Group LLC Trims Stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - Free Report) by 57.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 599,086 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock after selling 795,835 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $27,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. now owns 543 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verizon Communications during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verizon Communications by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 584 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verizon Communications during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in Verizon Communications by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 777 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.06% of the company's stock.

Verizon Communications Price Performance

Shares of VZ stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $40.77. The stock had a trading volume of 20,997,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,259,077. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $42.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.59 and a 12 month high of $47.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.37.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The cell phone carrier reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $33.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.31 billion. Verizon Communications had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 19.66%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current year.

Verizon Communications Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.6775 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Verizon Communications's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verizon Communications

In related news, CEO Kyle Malady sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.10, for a total transaction of $396,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 10,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,352.80. The trade was a 47.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 21,500 shares of company stock worth $938,400 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on VZ. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Verizon Communications from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Verizon Communications from $48.50 to $49.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.00.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide. It operates in two segments, Verizon Consumer Group (Consumer) and Verizon Business Group (Business).